Advances in Arts and Aesthetics: Paradigm of Michael Olusegun Fajuyigbe’s Pottery Sculpture

Abstract

Through the ages, artists have explored art and aesthetics to interpret issues, beautify environment, and document history and social advancements. This paper examines the evolvement of forms, including the content, context and meanings, in the pottery sculpture created by Michael Olusegun Fajuyigbe. It also discusses the relationship between the formal characteristics of art objects and their significance as rooted in the Yoruba philosophy and aesthetics. Interviews and relevant literature are employed in data collection, while analysis of works follows the descriptive method in art historical studies. Seven works are purposively selected and analysed to gain a better insight into the aesthetics of his art forms. The study reveals that art often speaks the language of its creator, and that every artist reflects his age and cultural environment while the average observer finds it difficult to construe the intricacies entrenched within the art forms produced by the artist. However, the analysis of selected works conveys pottery sculpture as carriers of values and information; thereby drawing viewers’ attention to inherent aesthetic pleasure and meanings. The paper concludes that art is a window to the artist’s world; and is interpretative of the environment and experiences the artist has lived. It submits therefore that like Fajuyigbe, contemporary academic potters should strive towards achieving a balance between aesthetics and form for a sustained relevance of pottery in contemporary Nigerian art.

Keywords: Art; Pottery Sculpture; Aesthetics; Yoruba Values; Symbolism.